The vascular therapist.

My association with John Uther began when I was appointed as his Cardiology Research Fellow at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in 1976. In 1983 John (then the Head of the Cardiology Unit at Westmead Hospital) appointed me as a cardiologist. John Uther and David Cody did the first coronary angioplasty at Westmead Hospital in 1983. By the end of the 1980s all of the cardiologists were fully trained in angioplasty. The first coronary stent was deployed at Westmead Hospital in 1993. In the mid to late 1990s coronary artery stenting led to a higher rate of procedural success with reduction in early complications and late restenosis. By the late 1990s stenting became routine treatment for any coronary artery where a stent could be technically placed. Drug eluting stents were developed to further reduce the risk of restenosis and the first stent was deployed at Westmead in 2002. We started primary coronary angioplasty in 1998 for patients presenting directly to Westmead Hospital with acute myocardial infarction. From November 1999 this was expanded as we began transferring patients from peripheral hospitals within the Area Health Service. In 1996 we began performing non-coronary artery angioplasty starting with carotid artery stenting followed by renal artery stenting in 1999. From early 2005 we have developed a collaboration with the vascular surgeons and we now perform a wide variety of non-coronary procedures as a team. In summary, vascular intervention has come a long way since John Uther did the first coronary procedure at Westmead Hospital 24 years ago.